After the crime
Subtitle: the power of restorative justice dialogues between victims and violent offenders
By: Susan L. Miller
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 267
ISBN-13: 9780814795521; 9780814795538; 9780814761434
Description: From the publisher. Too often, the criminal justice system silences victims, which leaves them frustrated, angry, and with many unanswered questions. Despite their rage and pain, many victims want the opportunity to confront their offenders and find resolution. After the Crime explores a victim-offender dialogue program that offers victims of severe violence an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their incarcerated offenders. Using rich in-depth interview data, the book follows the harrowing stories of crimes of stranger rape, domestic violence, marital rape, incest, child sexual abuse, murder, and drunk driving, ultimately moving beyond story-telling to provide an accessible scholarly analysis of restorative justice. Susan Miller argues that the program has significantly helped the victims who chose to face their offenders in very concrete, transformative ways. Likewise, the offenders have also experienced positive changes in their lives in terms of creating greater accountability and greater victim empathy. After the Crime explores their transformative experiences with restorative justice, vividly illustrating how one program has worked in conjunction with the criminal justice system in order to strengthen victim empowerment.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Tossing turkeys and other stories: what do they say about crime and punishment?; title: Getting personal: the power of storytelling; title: Donna and Jamel: living in different prisons; title: Allison and James: from horror to gratitude; title: Laurie and Paul: emerging from a cocoon; title: Melissa and Steven: losing innocence; title: Scott and Bruce: thou shalt not?; title: Leigh and Jenny: lives interrupted; title: Julie and Kevin: in memoriam; title: Kathleen and Wayne: a mother's love; title: Chris and Brett: misguided chivalry; title: The importance of storytelling for restorative justice; title: Conclusion.